6 “The Lord your God told me to give you all these commandments which you are to obey in the land you will soon be entering, where you will live. ² The purpose of these laws is to cause you, your sons, and your grandsons to reverence the Lord your God by obeying all of his instructions as long as you live; if you do, you will have long, prosperous years ahead of you. ³ Therefore, O Israel, listen closely to each command and be careful to obey it, so that all will go well with you, and so that you will have many children. If you obey these commands, you will become a great nation in a glorious land ‘flowing with milk and honey,’ even as the God of your fathers promised you.

⁴ “O Israel, listen: Jehovah is our God, Jehovah alone. ⁵ You must love him with all your heart, soul, and might. ⁶ And you must think constantly about these commandments I am giving you today. ⁷ You must teach them to your children and talk about them when you are at home or out for a walk; at bedtime and the first thing in the morning. ⁸ Tie them on your finger, wear them on your forehead, ⁹ and write them on the doorposts of your house!

^10-12 “When the Lord your God has brought you into the land he promised your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and when he has given you great cities full of good things—cities you didn’t build, wells you didn’t dig, and vineyards and olive trees you didn’t plant—and when you have eaten until you can hold no more, then beware lest you forget the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, the land of slavery. ¹³ When you are full, don’t forget to be reverent to him and to serve him and to use his name alone to endorse your promises.

¹⁴ “You must not worship the gods of the neighboring nations, ¹⁵ for Jehovah your God who lives among you is a jealous God, and his anger may rise quickly against you, and wipe you off the face of the earth. ¹⁶ You must not provoke him and try his patience as you did when you complained against him at Massah. ¹⁷ You must actively obey him in everything he commands. ¹⁸ Only then will you be doing what is right and good in the Lord’s eyes. If you obey him, all will go well for you, and you will be able to go in and possess the good land that the Lord promised your ancestors. ¹⁹ You will also be able to throw out all the enemies living in your land, as the Lord agreed to help you do.

²⁰ “In the years to come when your son asks you, ‘What is the purpose of these laws which the Lord our God has given us?’ ²¹ you must tell him, ‘We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt, and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with great power ²² and mighty miracles—with terrible blows against Egypt and Pharaoh and all his people. We saw it all with our own eyes. ²³ He brought us out of Egypt so that he could give us this land he had promised to our ancestors. ²⁴ And he has commanded us to obey all of these laws and to reverence him so that he can preserve us alive as he has until now. ²⁵ For it always goes well with us when we obey all the laws of the Lord our God.’